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Loudoun Launches Firearm and Medication Safety Program with ‘Lock and Talk Virginia’

Loudoun County is now offering free locking devices for guns and medication as part of the suicide prevention campaign, Lock and Talk Virginia.

Lock and Talk Virginia focuses on “means safety,” which aims to limit people’s access to lethal means of suicide. Studies indicate that 61% of people who die by suicide use firearms and 19% of people who die by suicide overdose on medications. Experts say that ‘means safety’ is the most effective method of preventing suicides.

Loudoun County offers two related training programs on an ongoing basis:

Mental Health First Aid trains participants to assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related issue in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Participants learn risk factors and how to identify signs and symptoms for mental health and addiction concerns.

REVIVE! teaches participants how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose emergency with the administration of naloxone. The goal of REVIVE! is to save lives by reducing the number of deaths resulting from opioid overdose emergencies.

For more information or to obtain trigger locks and cable locks for guns and locking pill bottles, contact the Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Developmental Services’ Prevention/Intervention Manager Judith Romberg at 703-777-0176 or by email.

If you, or someone you know, is experiencing a mental health crisis, call 703-777-0320, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Or, contact the PRS CrisisLink Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK or text CONNECT to 85511. In an emergency, call 911 and ask for a Crisis Intervention Team deputy or officer.